


Leadership

by starandrea



Series: Company of Spirits [3]
Category: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-10
Updated: 2009-12-10
Packaged: 2017-10-04 08:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starandrea/pseuds/starandrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>RJ and Casey talk about each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leadership

  


## Leadership

  


### by Starhawk

  


**Chapters:**

1\. Leadership   
2\. Evaluation

  


**   
1\. Leadership   
**

"Small problem," RJ said.  "I'm attracted to one of my students."

"Is he good-looking?" Dom wanted to know.  His voice over the phone sounded very close at that moment.

RJ frowned.  "I don't see what that has to do with it."

"Okay, _that's_ your problem," Dom informed him.  "Being attracted to someone is not nearly as big an issue as the fact that you don't know what they look like."

"I know what he looks like," RJ argued.  "I just don't see what it has to do with me wanting to kiss him."

"RJ, it's an evolutionary fact that animals find their mate more physically pleasing than others with comparable skills, attributes, availability, whatever.  You have to choose based on something.  I'm not saying it's looks.  But the more you like him, the more you'll appreciate what he has."

"Ah."  RJ considered this.  "So you're attempting to assess my level of emotional commitment by finding out how pretty I think he is."

"Sure," Dom agreed, amusement clear in his voice from all the way across the state.  "Let's go with that."

RJ hesitated again.  "Now I'm concerned that my answer could be... misinterpreted."

"Just tell me what he looks like!"

"...Pretty?" RJ offered.

"That's not gonna help me pick him out on the street," Dom told him.

"If that's your concern," RJ said, "you'd probably know him by his occasional but unmistakable red Pai Zhua training shirt."

He heard something that sounded suspiciously like laughter from the other end of the connection.  "You let them wear their academy gear on the streets?  And RJ, the Red Ranger!  You like the leader!  I'm shocked!"

RJ did his best not to sigh.  "It's less a matter of 'letting' them and more an issue of their lack of experience outside the academy environment.  Also, I'm not sure whether I hope you're being sarcastic or not."

"Oh, I'm so not," Dom said, the grin still obvious in his voice.  "I'm gonna give you a hard time forever, because your authority issues are worse than mine--and you like the Red Ranger?"

"Yes.  Well."  RJ stared at the nearest basketball hoop.  "That's come up."

"Keep going," Dom told him.

"He sometimes wishes I would do what he tells me," RJ admitted.  "In fairness, I could wish the same of him."

"But you don't?"  Dom had always taken him too literally.

On the other hand...

"No," RJ said slowly.  "I suppose not."

"Maybe he feels the same way," Dom suggested.  "Sometimes the things that annoy us are the things we miss most when we walk away."

RJ turned his back on the court.  "You know you're welcome here anytime, Dom."

"Uh-huh."  Dom's tone was hard to interpret.  "Might take you up on that, actually."

"If only to find out what my students look like?"

"Well, since you won't tell me."  The smile was back in Dom's voice.  "Pretty, you say.  Does he know?"

"That he's pretty?" RJ countered.  "Yes, I think he's quite aware."

"That you like him," Dom said.

"I make no secret of the fact that I like all of them," RJ replied.

"RJ," Dom warned.

RJ rolled his eyes at the wall.  "Does my youngest and most impressionable student know what I think about when he's on his back on the training mats?  No, I think it's safe to say I haven't gone out of my way to share that."

"I see the problem."  Dom still sounded more amused by the situation than anything.  "Have you considered assigning him a new teacher?"

RJ's eyes narrowed.  "He has one."

"And?" Dom prompted.

"It's my dad."

This was met by silence, and then Dom asked, "Did you just say... your _dad_ is training your Red Ranger?"

RJ didn't answer.  It hadn't gotten any easier, and Dom seemed to understand.

"Uh, okay.  So--don't answer this if you don't want to, but.  How did that happen?"

"I don't know," RJ muttered.  "Serendipity.  He came back one day with 'Master Finn' in tow.  They all live here, though, and I still find myself in the position of mentor.  Not to mention employer."

"Dude," Dom said.  "Your dad is totally stalking you."

"The thought had occurred to me," RJ admitted.  "But Casey..."  It was the first time he'd said the name aloud--to Dom or to anyone, even himself, to whom he might be confessing.  "Casey likes him," he finished, suddenly awkward.

"Is that weird?" Dom asked.

"No.  I mean, yes," RJ said, "but no.  Not for--it doesn't cause any problems."

"Not for him?" Dom said.  "Or not for you?"

"I think I preferred the conversation about his appearance," RJ told him.

"I preferred the one about him being the leader," Dom said with an audible grin.  "Dominance issues much?"

"It's not that kind of team.  We have a very... liberal range of compliance with consensus decision-making."

"Everyone does whatever they want," Dom translated.  "Gee, with you in charge, I can't imagine why that is."

"It's Casey's team," RJ said firmly.  He found, having said his name once, that it was almost too easy to keep using it.  "He encourages a participatory role in leadership decisions."

"I'm sure he does," Dom agreed.  "Is he tall, by any chance?"

RJ frowned.  "Why do you ask?"

"You're tall," Dom said.  "I'm just trying to picture you with your boy."

"I wish you wouldn't," RJ said.  "For one thing, he's not mine."

"So he's tall," Dom continued, unstoppable.  "He's a Ranger, and he's young, so he's probably skinny, too.  You like blondes, so I bet he's white, with light hair and..."  There was a pause.  "No stereotypes for you, so I'm guessing brown eyes.  And he's very gay.  You wouldn't be all over him otherwise."

"You're completely wrong," RJ informed him.  "His hair isn't that light."

Dom laughed at him.  "It's appalling how well I know you, isn't it?  Now you.  Tell me what he looks like.  And use your own words!"

"He looks like... he just got out of bed.  All the time," RJ added.  "Which isn't entirely inaccurate, given that I've caught him wearing his pajamas to work twice now."

"Aw," Dom teased.  "How adorable for you."

"He also looks like he could knock you down by accident if you startled him," RJ said.  "Luckily he doesn't startle easily."

"Years with Pai Zhua will do that for you," Dom remarked.

"His time as a Pai Zhua student isn't measured in years," RJ said carefully.

"Huh?"  Dom managed to rephrase before RJ could clarify.  "I thought you said they were too used to the academy."

"His teammates are.  Casey... follows their lead."

"How long was he at the academy?" Dom wanted to know.

"What is it now, July?"  RJ paused.  "That would make it... just as an approximate figure... six days."

"He was a Pai Zhua student for six days?"

"Technically, he's still a Pai Zhua student," RJ pointed out.

"You chose him to be Red, didn't you," Dom said.  "You liked him because he didn't know anything, and you think education stifles the imagination."

"That is categorically untrue," RJ replied.  "I think an appropriate education can liberate both instinct and imagination."

"You can't stand the academies," Dom said.

RJ didn't answer.

"Hey," Dom added, "it's not like I'm not with you on that."

"I didn't know how little he knew," RJ said quietly.  "It was the right choice, but... it wasn't the easy one I thought it was at the time."

"Lot of late nights?" Dom guessed.  "Training, I mean?"

"Worrying," RJ muttered.  "The Yellow Ranger was the logical choice for leader.  By not choosing her, the team became more my responsibility."

"I don't suppose you talked to Casey about that."

"He made up the ground and more," RJ said.  "But I find I... can't let go."

"You?" Dom countered.  "Anything I say about shock now definitely would be sarcasm.  You get attached, RJ.  It makes you a better friend, not a bad one."

"It doesn't make me a good teacher," RJ said quietly.

There was a pause, and then Dom asked, "Which one is more important?"

  


**   
2\. Evaluation   
**

"Okay, so here's the problem," Casey said.  "I like RJ."

"So not surprised by this," Lily replied, twitching her foot out of the way as he collapsed beside her on the couch.  "Thanks for bringing me cake, by the way."

"Sure thing."  He passed her a fork along with her plate, grinned at the kiss she blew him, and rested his own plate on his knee while he settled down.

"The first part of the problem," Casey said.  "Are we sure he's gay?"

Lily scoffed.  "Hello, have you met him?"

"Don't stereotype," Casey chided her.  "Hearts have been broken over less."

"He's not going to break your heart," she said, around a mouthful of cake.  "Although I think it was really cute of you to say that."

"The second part of the problem," Casey continued.  "Is he single?"

Lily stared pointedly around the loft.  "Signs point to yes, Casey."

Like RJ wasn't the kind of guy who could carry on a successful long-distance relationship for years without remembering to mention it to the people he lived with.  "Okay," Casey told her, "for the sake of argument, I'll take your word on that."

"You should," she agreed, settling back.  "I have sources."

"Oh, really?"  He made as if to get up.  "So I should just ask Fran?"

Lily smiled at her cake.  "Only if you want to do it in front of RJ."

Casey made a face.  "Yeah, so, I was thinking that's the fourth part of the problem, but I can skip ahead.  He's our _teacher_."

"Oh, yeah," Lily said, rolling her eyes.  "He looks ancient.  Probably about to keel over any day now."

"And our boss," Casey said.

"Like that matters."  Lily scraped some extra frosting off and redistributed it on the corner she was about to cut into with her fork.  "He even made Theo take down the 'shoes and shirt' sign.  I doubt he has a lot of rules about workplace fraternization."

"And our landlord," Casey finished.

"Oh, the horror," Lily teased.  "You think RJ's going to evict you if you cancel on him?"

"We skipped problem three," Casey told her.  "Does he even like me?  If the answer to that's no, I don't really have to worry about the rest."

For the first time, Lily hesitated, which didn't reassure him at all.  He tried to just eat his cake like he wasn't hanging on her every word.  Like he'd sat down next to her so he wouldn't look too crazy for talking to himself, instead of sitting with her because if anyone on this team had answers--answers that were understandable--it was Lily.

"Casey," she said at last.  "It's totally obvious to everyone except you that RJ thinks you're the best thing since calzones.  Theo and I have a bet on about how long it takes one of you to... do something about it."

"You and Theo?" he repeated.  "Not Fran?"

"Me and Fran have a bet about where you're going to be caught kissing first," Lily said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I'm glad I'm such a source of entertainment for you."  He didn't know why it didn't make him feel better, actually: if everyone in the loft believed it, it must be true, right?

Except they'd been wrong before.  They'd made mistakes, as Rangers and not.  Individually and as a team.  And this might be one of those things that was too important to leave to blind faith.

"Us too," Lily agreed.  "Come on, Casey.  You know we love you guys.  We just want you to be happy."

"What if I can't make him happy?" Casey countered.  "Who even knows anything about RJ?  He and his dad don't get along; that's like, the most personal thing any of us know about him.  Maybe he doesn't even date.  Maybe he's alone on purpose; we don't know.  It could be some mystical Pai Zhua master thing."

"Oh, I wish I was taping this," Lily said.  "The first of many Casey freakouts over RJ.  We're going to talk about this for years.  Probably to reassure you during future freakouts that, yes, RJ will be RJ, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like you."

"I'm not freaking out," Casey informed her.

 "You are completely freaking out," Lily said.  "But don't worry--you do it in a weirdly calm way.  You and RJ are perfect for each other."

"So, wait."  Casey decided the best thing to do with that was to ignore it, but his brain was starting to catch up.  "You're not surprised.  I'm guessing Theo and Fran weren't surprised.  Is it because I'm totally obvious?"

"No," Lily said.

"Because if it is, then why--"  He'd already started to continue when he realized what she'd said.  "What?"  It was the job of a best friend to tell you things you didn't want to hear, and Lily had never had any trouble doing it before.  "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean, you're not exactly holding up a sign," Lily told him.  "You flirt with everyone and their brother.  So the fact that you're all over RJ, adorable as it may be, isn't anywhere near as obvious as you think it is."

"I don't flirt with everyone," Casey protested.  "I'm friendly!"

"_I'm _friendly," Lily said.  "RJ's friendly.  You flirt.  Theo does, too.  But he's not friendly."

"Wow," Casey said.  "That must be some mysterious girl distinction that I don't know about."  He scraped some frosting off the edge of his plate, wondering if she would enlighten him.

Lily just shrugged.  "Among others," she said cheerfully.

It finally occurred to him where she was going with this.  "You think RJ thinks I flirt with everyone?" he asked.  "You think that's why he hasn't said anything?"

She rolled her eyes.  "No, he hasn't said anything because he doesn't think there's anything to say.  He figures you treat him the same way you treat everyone else, so why make a fuss?  Plus, he's your boss and it would be weird."

"You just said it wouldn't be weird!" Casey exclaimed.

"Yeah, not if _you_ say something," Lily said.  "It's not cool for him to do it.  And why would he?  He doesn't have any reason to think you want him to."

"I totally want him to," Casey said.  "If I'm so good at not showing it, why aren't you surprised?"

"Because RJ is falling over himself to do things for you," Lily informed him.  "He's smart and cute and funny.  He's like the nicest guy on the planet, and he has a huge crush on you.  Who wouldn't like that?"

"You're saying _he's_ totally obvious," Casey said.

"Yup," Lily agreed.  "Transparent like water."

"Huh."  Casey considered that.  "So basically, it's up to me."

"I'm not allowed to actually encourage you," Lily told him.  "That would invalidate my bet with Theo.  But I think you summed up the situation pretty well."

"I'll tell him you were completely neutral," Casey promised.  "Especially if you tell me what to do."

"Surprise him," Lily said.  "You know RJ; he likes to talk.  Tell him something he isn't expecting to hear."

Casey gave her a skeptical look.  "I'm not sure it's possible to surprise RJ."

Lily was rescuing some of the sprinkles from the middle of her plate with leftover frosting, and she shrugged.  "Try," she suggested.


End file.
